Jets’ New GM Idzik Says Call on Sanchez’s Status Premature

By Erik Matuszewski -
Jan 24, 2013

New York Jets General Manager John Idzik said decisions on the status of quarterback Mark Sanchez
or whether to trade All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis are
premature, and that competition will determine the roster.

Idzik, 52, was hired last week to succeed Mike Tannenbaum
after six seasons as the Seattle Seahawks’ vice president of
football operations. After helping build a team that reached the
National Football League playoffs with an 11-5 record this
season, Idzik takes control of a squad that went 6-10 and missed
the postseason for the second straight year.

The Jets have a quarterback quandary, a lack of playmakers
and a roster that’s almost $20 million over the league’s payroll
limit. Among the biggest decisions Idzik faces are whether
Sanchez and backup quarterback Tim Tebow will remain with the
organization, and if the team tries to trade Revis before he
becomes an unrestricted free agent after next season.

“The most immediate business item we’ve got to address is
a thorough and comprehensive review of our current roster,”
Idzik said at his introductory news conference. “From there,
we’ll be able to develop short-term plans going into free
agency, plans in regards to salary cap, and there will be
countless hours in prep for the 2013 draft.”

Tannenbaum was fired after the season, while coach Rex Ryan
was retained. The Jets had a 57-55 record during Tannenbaum’s
seven-year tenure.

Cap Expert

Idzik’s primary responsibilities in Seattle were managing
the salary cap and handling contract negotiations, though he
entered the NFL as a scout and said he’s had extensive
experience in that capacity in recent years.

Idzik’s father, John, was the Jets’ offensive coordinator
from 1977 to 1979. Before joining the Seahawks, Idzik spent
three seasons as senior director of football operations with the
Arizona Cardinals. He was also with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for
11 seasons and won a Super Bowl title in 2001 as the team’s
assistant general manager.

“He’s spent 20 years in every facet of the football
business and he’s done it all,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said.
“He’s absolutely the right person to do this job and will add
so much to what we’re trying to collectively do, and that’s put
a championship team on the field.”

Sanchez was benched in favor of third-string quarterback
Greg McElroy at the end of 2012. He had an NFL-high 53 turnovers
over the past two years, including 36 interceptions, and is
guaranteed $8.25 million next season. The Jets would face a
$17.1 million salary cap hit over the next two years if they cut
Sanchez, the fifth pick in the 2009 NFL draft.

Carroll Connection

Idzik said he isn’t ready to comment specifically on
Sanchez. He said he evaluated the quarterback in college and is
familiar with him through Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who
coached Sanchez at the University of Southern California.

“I don’t want to drill down too deep,” Idzik said when
asked about Sanchez’s future. “That we’re going to save for our
evaluation process in the days and weeks to come. In looking at
Mark, he’s an athletic guy, he was accomplished at USC and done
some nice things here, but we need to take our time and evaluate
Mark with everyone else on roster and see how we can move
forward and improve.”

Tebow’s Time

Tebow saw little playing time at quarterback with Jets a
year after leading the Denver Broncos to the playoffs.

In acquiring the former Heisman Trophy winner, the Jets
said he would be used to run their wildcat offense, a package
featuring runs and passes by the quarterback that are used to
confuse defenses. Tebow completed six of eight pass attempts and
rushed for 102 yards on 32 carries. He spent more time on
special teams, playing mostly as the up back on punt formations.

Revis, 27, has been regarded by some as the best defensive
player in the NFL when healthy. He is coming off a season in
which he played in two games before tearing the anterior
cruciate ligament in his left knee. CBSSports.com reported
yesterday that Johnson wanted to explore a trade for Revis, who
is set to make $6 million in 2013.

“It’s way premature to say anything specific,” Idzik
said. “One of our first steps is to go through roster in detail
and that includes Darrelle, that includes everybody. And then
develop a comprehensive plan from there.”

All-Pro

Revis was selected as an All-Pro in three of his first five
NFL seasons and the Jets’ defense has relied on his one-on-one
coverage skills against opponents’ top receivers. Getting fair-
market value for him in a trade may be difficult, with Revis
three months removed from major knee surgery and likely to
demand a contract when he becomes a free agent that makes him
among the league’s highest-paid players. ESPN said he might be
looking for as much as $16 million a year.

“Revis will always be a contract issue unless and until he
is paid as a ‘premiere player’ rather than as a cornerback,”
Andrew Brandt, a former NFL executive and now an ESPN business
analyst, said today on Twitter.

The Jets are $19.4 million over the NFL’s salary cap for
2013, according to ESPNNewYork, though Idzik said he “never saw
the cap situation here as a hindrance.”

“It’s something you research, work through, evaluate, and
make the moves that we think are best for the Jets,” he said.
“I’m fully confident we’ll be able to do that and we’ll have a
fruitful offseason.”

A former wide receiver at Dartmouth College, Idzik attended
Senior Bowl practices with Ryan and other members of the Jets’
football personnel department this week in Mobile, Alabama, to
evaluate top college prospects ahead of April’s draft.

He said he doesn’t see dysfunction in the Jets’ franchise,
which probably has garnered more headlines in recent years for
off-field issues than for on-field success.

“There seems to be a lot of misperceptions,” Idzik said
when asked about bringing a more serious attitude to the
organization. “I don’t look at it as repair. I look at it as
fostering what we have here. We have a good group of people.”